Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Johngy Meets a Colonel

Ed Wiskoski went from Easy Ed to Col. DeBeers and became one of the biggest heels in wrestling in the 1980's.  As Col. DeBeers, he favored the pro-Apartheid mindset.  The character flaunted his racist views and was arguably one of the most politically incorrect figures in wrestling (a world filled with political incorrectness at the time).
Wiskoski won a handful of minor titles in his career, but never won a major title in any of the major organizations, despite being one of the biggest villains in the American Wrestling Association (AWA).
Like a lot of the old-time wrestlers, Wiskoski was a total class act when I met him in Las Vegas several years ago.  Despite heading into an event, he took a few minutes to chat with me and pose for a picture.  He was all smiles and very friendly.  It really was hard to imagine this nice guy being such a hated character.  That tells me how good he was at playing the part.
Rose ran a wrestling school for a while. I am quite sure many of today's stars could take some cues from him.  He really could get a crowd into the action.
Ed Wiskoski in Las Vegas, NV-Early 00's.

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